Part 23

In scope it treats only of such varieties as rise to the fly or are caught by trolling with rod and reel, whether from the stream, lake, bay or ocean, and furnish sport to the angler who fishes for the exhilarating pleasure their capture affords.

The Pacific Coast is rich in game fishes, not only in the varieties found in its lakes and streams, but as well in its bays and estuaries, while the broad ocean furnishes varieties whose size and fighting qualities are not surpassed, even if equaled, in any other part of the world. To place in the hands of the young angler, and others who may not have given the subject the necessary attention, a convenient handbook by the aid of which even the novice may readily recognize the species of fish he has landed, is the object of these pages.

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All of the salmon, the trout, the chars, the white-fish and the lake herring have been classed by the naturalist in one family and given the name, =Salmonidae=; but it is only with three genera of the subfamily, =Salmoninae= that we are concerned. These are the Pacific salmon (=Oncorhynchus=), the true trout (=Salmo=) and the Eastern trout and the dolly varden trout (=Salvelinus=). The Atlantic salmon belong to the genus Salmo, the same as the true trout, and have but one species (=Salmo salar=), which partake more of the habits of the trout than do their Pacific cousins.

THE PACIFIC SALMON

(Oncorhynchus)

Notwithstanding the fact that the salmon is one of the most valuable of all the food fishes, but little is known of its habits after it leaves the stream in which it is hatched until it returns to spawn, supposed to be from three to four years afterward. Whether they remain near the mouths of the streams, or whether they migrate to distant feeding grounds are questions that have never been solved. All of the five species are caught with seins in Puget Sound in greater or less numbers all the year round. From the action of those that spawn in the Sacramento river it would seem that they migrate southward and far out to sea, for on their return to spawn they enter Monterey Bay only on its southern side, and following around it at no great distance from the shore, leave it at the northern headlands and skirt the shore northward until they reach the entrance to San Francisco Bay on their way up the Sacramento river. Where the young fish make their habitat from the time they drift down the stream in which they were spawned until they return again to spawn has never been determined. They spawn but once and die soon afterward. As I know that this last statement will be disputed by some, for reasons best known to themselves, I will quote from that excellent work by Evermann and Jordan, "American Food and Game Fishes." "We have carefully," say these gentlemen, "examined the spawning habits of both forms of the red fish and chinook salmon in the head waters of Salmon river, Idaho, during two entire seasons, from the time the fish arrived in July until the end of September, by which time all the fish had disappeared. A number of important questions were settled by these investigations. In the first place it was found that all of the fish arrived upon the spawning grounds in perfect physical condition, so far as external appearances indicated; no sores, bruises or other mutilations showing on any of more than 4000 fish examined. During the spawning, however, the majority became more or less injured by rubbing against the gravel of the spawning-beds, or by fighting with one another. Soon after done spawning every one of them died, not only both forms of the red fish but the chinook salmon as well. The dying is not due to the injuries the fish received on the spawning-grounds; many were seen dying or dead which showed no external or other injuries whatever. The dying of the West Coast salmon is in no manner determined by distance from the sea. Observations made by us and others elsewhere show that the individuals of all species of the =Oncorhynchus= die after one spawning, whether the spawning-beds are remote from the sea or only a short distance from salt-water."

The angler's concern, however, is not so much with the procreative habits of the salmon as it is with their behavior while feeding and after being hooked.

Salmon are rarely caught by still fishing, but they will take the spoon or a sardine or other small fish impaled upon the hook. They take the bait generally with some hesitation, though at times they strike it with all the impetuosity of the trout. Then the singing reel calls for careful and immediate action on the part of the angler, for the ten to forty pound fish on his light tackle is going to put up a fight worthy of his skill. In his mad rush for liberty the gamy fish gradually rises to the surface, and when at last checked by the skill of the angler, he will often leap out of the water to a height of from four to eight feet, his beautiful sides scintillating in the rays of the sun, forming a picture to gladden the heart of the angler, for if he be a true sportsman he will fish with such tackle only as will give his adversary a fair chance in the fight and require the fullest exercise of his own knowledge and skill to bring his fish to gaff. The salmon is a strong fighter but his rushes do not last long for a fish of its size. For this reason much of the sport of salmon fishing is lost through the use of too heavy tackle. The writer landed one without difficulty weighing 33-1/2 pounds on a nine thread, Cuttyhunk line and a 5-1/2 foot steel rod weighing less than six ounces, and I believe that a fifty pound fish can be landed with the same tackle. Trolling with hand lines for salmon is practiced by some, but such is not angling. Hauling in an impaled fish hand over hand with a small cable is neither sport nor sportsmanlike.

THE CHINOOK, OR KING SALMON

(Oncorhynchus tschawytscha)

This species has a multiplicity of names, being known in different localities as chinook, quinnat, king, Sacramento river and Columbia river salmon, besides half a dozen or more Indian names. Its distribution is the widest of any of the Pacific salmon, ranging on both sides of the ocean from the latitude of Monterey Bay to Behring Straits. The run begins on the Columbia river as early as the latter part of February, many of the fish going up its tributaries 1000 miles or more to spawn. Farther south the run becomes gradually later.

The spawning season also varies with the locality, and ranges from the latter part of July to the middle of November. The date of spawning seems to be determined by the temperature of the water, for it is said that the salmon will not spawn, even if on the spawning grounds, until the water has fallen to a temperature of 54 degrees Fahrenheit.

The chinook salmon is the largest of the family, specimens having been taken in Alaska waters that have weighed 100 pounds, while 50 to 60 pound fish are common. Those taken in the Columbia river are said to average 22 pounds, while the average of the Sacramento river catch is 16.

Head, rather pointed; eye, small and situated a little in front of the back of the mouth; body, rounded and full, the deepest part being about midway of its length; pectoral fins, short and situated low and just behind the gills; dorsal fin, nearly midway of the back; ventral fins, a little behind the center of the dorsal; anal fin about half way between the ventral and the tail; adipose fin, a little in front of the rear of the ventrals; caudal fin, or tail, slightly forked.

The back, dorsal fin and tail are generally well covered with dark brownish black spots. There are few spots as a rule on the head, and those are of a slaty color.

There is always some variation in color, but usually the back is quite dark, turning to bluish on the sides and light silver below. As the spawning season approaches, the jaws of the males become lengthened and badly distorted and the color changes to more of a pinkish hue and blotched in appearance. The gills are never alike on both sides, varying from 15 to 19 in number. (See plate giving names of all parts mentioned.)

BLUEBACK, OR SOCK-EYE SALMON, REDFISH

(Oncorhynchus nerka)

This species is next in commercial value to the chinook. It has been taken occasionally in the Sacramento river but it is not common south of the Columbia river. The run of this species begins about the first of April and the fish go as far as Salmon river, Idaho, fully 1000 miles from the sea to spawn. By a peculiar instinct this species only run up such rivers as have lakes at their heads, and spawn in the lakes or at the mouths of little streams emptying into them, in many of the lakes of Oregon and Washington are found the young of the blue-back salmon which are commonly called redfish. These fish never leave these lakes and therefore never attain a size of more than five to seven pounds.

Head, short and pointed and light olive in color; under jaw, white; body, long, slim and rather flattened; back, blue; sides, silver; belly, dull white; dorsal fin, dark; others flesh color; tail, rather narrow and well forked; gills, 13 to 15. As the spawning season approaches the whole fish takes on a decided reddish cast, which sometimes becomes as dark as a brick-red. The jaw becomes very much hooked, and a few spots appear.

THE SILVER SALMON

(Oncorhynchus kisutch)

In line of importance the silver salmon occupies the next place. It is also known by a number of names, among which are koho, skowitz and kisutch. It is a small fish, rarely exceeding 16 inches in length and never reaching more than ten pounds in weight. Its range is from Alaska south to Monterey Bay, where it has recently been planted and seems to flourish. It spawns in the smaller coast streams, never going far from the salt water. Its run begins about the first of September, spawning in October and November.

Head, short with blunt snout; opercles or gill covers, very convex; body, shaped very much like the chinook; back, bluish green; sides, silver white. It has but few spots and these are confined pretty much to the head, upper fins and tail. Gills, 13 or 14.

THE HUMP-BACK SALMON

(Oncorhynchus gorbuscha)

This is another small species, rarely exceeding six pounds in weight but more commonly from three to four. Its range is from the Sacramento river, where it appears in limited numbers, north to Alaska.